The dissertation 'Regional Collective Bargaining in North America: An alternative for balancing trade and labor prerogatives' makes an analysis of the relationship between international trade and the protection of labor rights. It features the evolution of domestic, regional, and international labor efforts and why labor standards (or the lack thereof) existing in today's global economy ultimately fail to protect workers' rights. In particular, the dissertation shows this trend in the implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement ('NAFTA') and its parallel regional labor compromise, the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation ('NAALC'). Therefore, the dissertation studies NAALC and its effectiveness to protect labor rights in North America, and compares it with other regional and international labor institutions and legal frameworks like the International Labor Office and the European Labor Law. The dissertation proposes enlarging the scope of NAALC and improving its enforcement means in order to provide greater protection to labor rights. It also suggests the implementation of North American Regional Frameworks. These frameworks would be negotiated by employer, union and government representatives, utilizing collective bargaining methodologies. For such purpose, the dissertation also makes an in depth analysis of the collective bargaining legal framework that is enforceable in each of the North American countries, and utilizes its common structures to create the proposal for its further development / acase@tulane.edu

The following dissertation is a study of the evolution of Mexican foreign policy under the administration of President Carlos Salinas de Gortari (1988-1994). It is the hypothesis of this study that, for the dual purposes of pulling Mexico out of the economic crisis of the early 1980s and re-establishing the legitimacy of the ruling party after a drastic setback in the 1988 elections, Salinas took advantage of the international political and economic climate of the late 1980s to reorient Mexican foreign policy away from past traditions In order to do so, the Salinas administration, both rhetorically and in practice, began a process of eliminating those negative aspects of its foreign policy that tended to created an atmosphere of tension, suspicion, and hostility in its foreign relations. At the same time, the Salinas administration began to promote a foreign policy of closer and trusting relations with the other states of the world, especially those countries most important to Mexico's economic well-being. Salinas also waged a relatively successful public campaign to convince the Mexican population of the necessity and the utility of this foreign policy strategy. But Salinas had many critics, both within Mexico and outside the country, which he could neither escape nor ignore; and his foreign policy was tempered as a consequence Therefore, the study utilizes a modified levels-of-analysis methodology to approach Mexican foreign policy from the multiple different forces at work in the country's foreign policy process. Throughout the paper, Mexican political culture, the Mexican government, Mexican society, and external events beyond Mexico's control serve as the individual levels-of-analysis through which Mexican foreign policy during these years is assessed Because it is the most significant Mexican foreign policy initiative of the period, the North American Free Trade Agreement constitutes an important case study in this paper; but there are numerous other examples of this process in both the international economic and political/diplomatic foreign policy of the Salinas administration that are touched upon as well. In the final analysis, the available evidence indicates that Mexican foreign policy did undergo a substantive transformation along the lines envisioned by the hypothesis / acase@tulane.edu

This dissertation stems from the need to expose disputes among domain names and trademarks that I experienced since 1992 during my 15 years as an intellectual property consultant in NIC-Mexico, an organization in charge of managing domain names ending in '.mx'. During this time, I was witness to the exponential increase in the use of domain names, originating from the advances in technology and electronic communications in general. In the particular case of Mexico with the signing of North American Free Trade Agreement with the United States and Canada that created a new international market where trademark protection and domain regulation became necessary Domain names are an integral part of the Internet system. They work as a group of addresses that Internet users apply in order to access the network. Each domain, as an independent address, is composed of letters, numbers, phrases, names and other alphanumeric combinations. How those letters, numbers, phrases, and other alphanumeric combinations are managed, how do they conflict in relation with intellectual property and how this conflicts must be resolved are the subjects upon which this dissertation is focused thru a comparative analysis of the Country Code Top Level Domain (ccTLD) or Network Information Centers (NIC's) of Mexico, Japan, France, Spain and the United Sates---the basic building blocks of the domain system Currently, there is no specific rule as to how ccTLDs should be administrated or procedures that guarantee the participation of national authorities in its operations. I suggest that the management of DNS should be operated by exclusively private parties in each of the countries or territories where ccTLD are created in order to assure accuracy, stability, security, flexibility and regular adjustments to new technologies that are complicated to accomplish by public management. I believe that national authorities must regulate the generic forms of operation of the ccTLD and not manage it, and in order to guarantee presence in its operation, they should stimulate the creation of Advisory Committees integrated by personalities of the Internet Community and have an active participation as another member rather than an authority in order to know the needs and expectations of the Internet community in relation to the ccTLD operations This dissertation will also argue a need for within each ccTLD for regulation of domain names from its lately association with intellectual property rights (limited to trademarks, copyrights and unfair competition) and the role that national governments must take in relation to legislate over domain names. There are several international institutions as the World Intellectual Property Organization that have presented recommendations about how domain names should be treated in relation to intellectual property that are been follow by national authorities, but only the United States and Spain has included the concept of domain name in its legislation that describe to users their rights and obligations and gives guidance to courts to assist the parties in how to apply intellectual property laws to the regulation of domains. The cases of United States with the Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA) and the National Plan for Internet Domain Names of Spain and the suffix .es , 8902 ORDEN ITC/1542/2005 of Spain should, this dissertation argues, be followed by other national governments, although I argue that future legislation should take into consideration not only trademark-related domain names, but also the connection of domain names to unfair competition and copyright laws Finally, this dissertation asks, what is, if any, the best legal or alternative procedure recommended for the resolution of disputes between domains and intellectual property rights? In the case of Spain and the U.S., the legislation on domains was created precisely to solve in the courts any dispute stemming from the use of domains in connection with the intellectual property. Nevertheless, such legislation does not block Internet users from using alternative means to resolve disputes. Those alternative means are cost and time efficient, presenting an interesting option for those people that only wish to cancel or transfer the domain name rather than file a suit for compensatory damages and loss, actions that are exclusive of the judicial procedure / acase@tulane.edu

This study compares and contrasts the remedies available to an aggrieved party under the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods to the equivalent remedies in the Mexican law on sales. The purpose of the study is to establish that, although the remedies of Specific Performance, Damages and Avoidance are contained in both bodies of law and are in principle equivalent, they are neither exercised nor applied in the same manner In order to achieve an informative comparison, it is essential to analyze the letter of both pieces of legislation and to consult relevant academic literature. It is also pertinent to explore how judicial and arbitral tribunals have interpreted the Convention for the International Sale of Goods and the Mexican law on sales on each topic This study will, thus, provide legal practitioners, academics, scholars and the judiciary with a better understanding of the applicability and implementation of the remedies of Specific Performance or Cumplimiento Forzoso, Damages or Danos y Perjuicios and Avoidance or Rescision, available under the Convention and the Mexican law, respectively The reason to make this comparison available to all of those who participate in international sales is, first, that they will find it useful when drafting contracts. Second, it is also relevant for determining strategy when analyzing a case of breach of an international contract of sale. Third, it will assist any tribunal responsible for deciding a dispute over a breach of a sales contract to which the CISG or Mexican law is applicable In sum, this study is relevant due to the fact that it presents the similarities and the differences in the main remedies for breach of contract contained in the CISG and Mexican law. Therefore, when facing a case of breach of an international contract of sales where the remedies in question are at stake, the interested party will have a precise tool to decide his legal strategy / acase@tulane.edu

Like many countries around the world, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) encounters severe congestion in its court system. In a system with three tiers of trial, a lawsuit might stay in the court for years before reaching final judgment. As a result, the legislature in the UAE barred the parties from filing any civil lawsuit in the court before having it reviewed by one of the newly established Conciliation and Settlement Committees. The committee, which is composed of a judge and two laypersons, attempts to resolve the dispute in an amicable way through applying nonbinding conciliation. Because of the insignificant amount of studies about the committees, many unforeseen issues and troubles have emerged. Many lawyers were also skeptical about the committees' role and contribution to resolve the delays in the court system. This distrust was due to their belief that these committees are nothing but another hurdle in the trial procedure. Thus, an extensive study is needed to address these issues. This study is the first in the UAE to address the committees' role and it aims to correct any misconceptions related to the role of the committees by evaluating their role and demonstrating their effect in reducing the number of lawsuits in courts. It utilizes the well-known American jurisprudence in the ADR field in order to explain and predict flaws that might exist in the system. The study shows that utilizing nonbinding ADR is not new to the UAE judicial system and that the legislature approach has proven to be effective in reducing judicial congestion. This study will pioneer the ADR library in the UAE and contribute, generally, to the advancement of the judicial system in the UAE, specifically, to the Conciliation and Settlement Committees / acase@tulane.edu

In this dissertation, the author has comparatively studied the international OPLR, the American OPLR and the China OPLR. Specifically, the comparative study covers key terms, channeling rule, liability rule, admissible damages, defenses, limitation of liability, insurance and financial responsibility, oil pollution liability fund, subrogation, recourse action, procedures for asserting claims, limitation periods and judicial jurisdiction of all three OPLRs By comparative study, the author realizes that the primary purpose of the international OPLR is to guarantee the full compensation for oil pollution damage. To facilitate other international conventions for purpose of marine environmental protection by creating incentives for a shipowner to take precautions in preventing oil pollution from happening is the secondary purpose of the international OPLR. Variously, the primary purpose of the American OPLR is to create incentives for all of the responsible party of a ship, a facility or deepwater port to take positive measures in preventing an oil pollution incident from happening or alleviating oil pollution damage where an oil pollution incident occurred. To guarantee full compensation for oil pollution damage and removal costs is only the secondary purpose of the American OPLR Currently, the China OPLR is kind of two-fold path regime, i.e. the China OPLR for the foreign-related oil pollution situation and the China OPLR for the purely domestic oil pollution situation, with a poorly crafted and piecemeal condition. Given the facts that the fast growth of the carriage of cruel oil by sea in the waters of China, the threat of a grave oil pollution discharge, and the national policy of 'prevention first and control pollution in comprehensive manner,' China should improve its existing OPLR to effectuate the 'prevention first' goal and then guarantee the full compensation As one of achievements of this dissertation, the author has drafted a COPL for China / acase@tulane.edu

Over the last decades there has been a growing proliferation of international regulatory institutions (fora) with overlapping mandates and ambiguous boundaries. Some international relations scholars argue that institutional density spurs forum shopping - states may choose from among multiple options the one that best meets their policy preference, may play institutions against each other and even replace institutions with which they are dissatisfied. Such patterns have been observed across the global governance system, raising fears that global institutions are losing relevance and that the international system is becoming increasingly anarchic. However, successful forum shopping is rare within global environmental governance despite its high institutional density and often high level of states' institutional dissatisfaction. / This dissertation asks how states respond when their policy preferences are not being met within a global environmental forum and how state responses affect this forum over time. It develops a theoretical framework that conceptualizes forum shopping along a continuum of possible state actions taken when states disagree with the primary forum. This framework proposes that a state's institutional response depends on the institutional design of the primary forum, the state's national interest, and its capabilities. It is tested against empirical evidence from three cases: climate change, trade in endangered species and whaling. Methods comprise structured focused comparison, congruence and process tracing. This dissertation finds that institutional density indeed generates additional opportunities for state action, but finds there is an unwillingness to use them. Global environmental fora exhibit an "engagement pull" on states -- structurally, they have a high level of revisability and there are multiple constraints on the use of other fora. It is demonstrated how arguing and bargaining conducted by the actors at the center of institutional debates help reconstruct challenged institutions as focal points of cooperation; how state dissatisfaction causes institutional proliferation and how states and other actors can pursue a more effective and sustainable governance system.

Owing to scientific insights and greater awareness of the deteriorating environment, since the 1970s governments have adopted a range of health, safety and environmental (HSE) measures at the national and international levels. While their purposes vary, HSE measures generally seek: the protection of the population from HSE risks; the internalization by economic operators of their negative externalities; and the transformation of consumption and production patterns. As a result, environmental law has emerged in comparative and international law. / HSE measures enter a policy space already occupied by international economic law. Generally, economic law seeks to enable successful economic ventures and development by removing obstacles to trade and securing protection to foreign investment. To these ends, it deploys dispute settlement mechanisms which may attract conflicts relating to HSE measures, especially where the costs of compliance with these measures significantly affect foreign investors or countries other than those benefiting from increased HSE protection. / International tribunals established under the World Trade Organization (WTO) or international investment agreements (IIAs) have scrutinized HSE measures. Adjudicating claims involving HSE measures confronts the challenge of affirming economic law disciplines while avoiding interpretations and results that defeat the objectives of the international regimes underlying HSE measures. / Under the paradigm of sustainable development, which seeks to reconcile economic development and environmental protection by integrating environmental issues in the development planning and decision-making process, systemic integration techniques of treaty interpretation avail to facilitate normative dialogue between economic, environmental, and human rights law. This dialogue is critical to threading coherence, synergy and mutual supportiveness among these regimes, so that they do not frustrate each other's goals. / In this light, this dissertation explores the issues and tensions involved in the adjudication of HSE measures by dispute settlement mechanisms established in international economic law, with a view to finding ways of building mutually supportive trade, investment, environmental and human rights regimes.

Canada's Patented Medicines (Notice Of Compliance) Regulations fail to achieve the intended purpose of balancing innovation with timely generic market entry. An examination of the inefficiencies created by the Canadian regulations reveals that key features of U.S. pharmaceutical law should be adopted to improve the disjointed regulatory system that impedes generic competition. Specifically, the regulations should be amended to consolidate multiple proceedings into one cause of action that evaluates patent validity. An economic incentive to challenge weak patents should also be introduced in Canada. These features encourage competition without deterring pharmaceutical research and development because only patents that are not truly inventive will be invalidated after a full inquiry. As such, the intellectual property laws will continue to satisfy Canada's international intellectual property obligations and protect innovative medicines and allow recovery of costs and monopoly profits to new and useful pharmaceutical products.

Contemporary militaries depend on volunteer soldiers capable of dealing with advanced technology and complex missions. An important factor in the successful recruiting, retention, and employment of quality personnel is the set of personnel policies which a military has in place. It might be assumed that military policies on personnel derive solely from the functional necessities of the organization's mission, given that the stakes of military effectiveness are generally very high. Unless the survival of the state is in jeopardy, however, it will seek to limit defense costs, which may entail cutting into effectiveness. How a state chooses to make the tradeoffs between effectiveness and economy will be subject to influences other than military necessity. In this study, I argue that military personnel management policies ought to be a function of the interaction between the internal pressures of military mission and the external pressures of the national economic infrastructure surrounding the military. The pressures of military mission should not vary significantly across advanced democratic states, but the national market economic type will. Using written policy and expert interview data from five countries, this study analyzes how military selection, accessions, occupational specialty assignment, and separations policies are related to the country's educational and training system, the significance of skills certification on the labor market, and labor flexibility. I evaluate both officers and enlisted personnel, and I compare them across countries and within countries over time. I find that market economic type is a significant explanatory variable for the key military personnel policies under consideration, although other factors such as the size of the military and the stakes of military effectiveness probably also influence the results. Several other potential explanatory factors such as the ease of recruiting appear to be subordinate to market economic type in predicting policy. / Dissertation